Bowing Out
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: Katrina and Ichabod have drifted apart. And while Katrina's certain nothing has happened between Abbie and Ichabod, she knows they have feelings for each other. She decides to do something about the state of her marriage.


**I don't own Sleepy Hollow and never will. No copyright infringement intended.**

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Katrina isn't blind – she knows there's something going on between Ichabod and Abbie. There's no cheating going on – she's sure of that – but they definitely have feelings for each other. Katrina and Ichabod's marriage has been falling apart ever since she returned, and they've both being trying to avoid the reality of the situation. It's time to end this – they need to talk about it.

Ichabod set his book down and smiled at Katrina when his wife walked into the room. "Hello."

"Hello. We need to talk, Ichabod." She took a deep breath and then sat down next to her husband.

He frowned. "What do we need to discuss?" Ichabod was confused – they hadn't fought lately, and Sleepy Hollow's latest problems hadn't been apocalypse-related.

She started playing with her fingers before looking up. "I don't want to be married to you anymore," Katrina finally admitted.

"What?" He definitely hadn't been expecting those words to come out of his wife's mouth. Why was she saying these things? He had noticed the problems between them lately, but Ichabod had been trying to fix them. Clearly, he had been unsuccessful.

"We've drifted apart, and it's time that we admit that – I have. It took me a long time to get to this point."

"But we're married." Ichabod knew Katrina was telling the truth, but accepting it? That was a hard thing to do. He didn't want to either.

"I know we're married, but plenty of people end their marriages. We were happy once, but not anymore. And we can't sustain a marriage like this. It's not good for either of us." Katrina had had a long conversation with Jenny the previous day – she needed someone to talk to – and they had both agreed on the subject.

"Can we even get a divorce? We're not in the legal system." Ichabod figured he might as well ask what seemed like a stupid question.

She shrugged. "We'll figure out a way. Ichabod, do you really want to be with me?"

He looked down at his feet. "I am still rather furious that you lied to me about Jeremy and about a few other events," he reluctantly admitted.

Katrina considered that a victory. "I've always known that. And I shouldn't have lied to protect you, but I did what I thought was right. So we are at an impasse. We should be free to do whatever we choose and love whoever we want to love."

Ichabod stared at her. "Is there something else for you?" He'd be hurt for a variety of reasons if she had cheated on him.

She shook her head. "No, there isn't. But there's someone else for you – I know you're in love with Abbie."

He opened his mouth to speak a few times, but no words came out. "I'm not in love with Abbie, and I have not betrayed your trust."

"Ichabod, I'm not accusing you of infidelity. I know you'd never betray my trust in that way. But you're not in love with me anymore, and I've fallen out of love with you also. It happens to many couples, according to Jenny. We should both be happy. That is important." There wasn't a "bad guy" (as Jenny had described it) in this situation.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" It hurt, but Ichabod was finally willing to admit that Katrina was right. Ending their marriage wasn't ideal, but he understood her reasoning. He just wished it hadn't come to this.

Katrina smiled encouragingly at him, even though this was hurting her. She had made the right choice, even though it was one of the hardest decisions she had ever had to make. "This is what I want. And I know that once you think about it, you'll believe it's what you want too."

He stood up and started pacing back and forth. Ichabod thought back over the past few months and what had happened in their marriage. They hadn't made love in weeks – they blamed it on the latest supernatural events to happen in Sleepy Hollow in quick succession – and conversations were few and far between. They hardly ever talked now. Katrina _was _right. They were living in an unhappy marriage, and he had hadn't wanted to admit it. He finally looked at her. "You're right," Ichabod conceded.

She would have smiled if this had been a happy conversation. "This is for the best, Ichabod. It may not seem like it now, but it is. I'll be moving out as soon as possible."

Ichabod shook his head. "No, I can't kick you out of the cabin. I'll leave and find somewhere new to live."

"Ichabod, you were here first. I refuse to let you go someplace else. Jenny offered to help me find an apartment. I'm going to earn some money working as a 'secretary' somewhere. I don't want to have to rely on anyone." Katrina liked being friends with Jenny, but she didn't want to live off of her (and Abbie). That would be wrong.

"I'm sorry, Katrina."

She patted him on the shoulder. "You don't have to apologize, Ichabod. We'll figure this out."

He gasped in realization. "I _am _in love with Abbie. How did I not realize this before? How badly did I hurt you?"

"Ichabod, you didn't hurt me so please do stop thinking that way. And you were in denial before because you didn't want it to go this far. But you need to admit your feelings for each other – I know she feels the same way." Abbie had pulled back recently so she wouldn't be obvious about it, but it was too late by that point - Katrina had realized a while ago how they felt about each other.

Ichabod pulled her in for a hug. "I will always love you."

"And I will love you for the rest of my life," Katrina assured him. The fact that they weren't in love anymore was part of the problem.

Jenny showed up half an hour later (ending the awkward silence between Katrina and Ichabod) to help her friend move out. All in all, it wasn't too bad of an experience. They hugged goodbye again and went their separate ways. And that was that.

A month after Katrina and Ichabod's marriage ended, things started to settle down between everyone. There wasn't as much awkwardness when they were trying to stop the latest demon or creature of the week. Two weeks later, Katrina had finally had enough and decided to confront her almost ex-husband. "You need to tell Abbie how you feel. None of us can take this anymore."

"I don't want to lose her friendship. Plus, we've only been apart six weeks. Isn't it too soon?" Ichabod didn't know very much about these types of things.

Katrina shook her head. "It isn't. Go ahead and tell her," she encouraged.

She and Jenny hid behind a door (and hoped they were being quiet) to eavesdrop on Abbie and Ichabod's conversation.

"How are you doing?" Abbie smiled up at her friend. She had been worried about him ever since Jenny told her that Katrina was planning on leaving Ichabod.

"I'm good. You?" He cringed at this conversation already.

"I'm great. What'd you want to talk to me about?"

"They need to hurry up and get to the good part," Jenny whispered.

Katrina playfully swatted her. "Shh. We don't want them to hear us."

"Sorry," she apologized.

Fortunately for Katrina and Jenny, neither Abbie nor Ichabod heard them. Ichabod shuffled his feet back and forth before he got up the courage to confess to Abbie how he felt. "Katrina made me see reason when she left," he started out.

Abbie frowned. "What are you talking about?" He hadn't talked much about the conversation that led to the end of his marriage, and she respected his privacy.

"I have some feelings for you, Miss Mills." Why had he slipped back into old habits? This wasn't going well.

"What kind of feelings?" She was suddenly terrified and excited at once.

"It seems that I am in love with you. Katrina saw it – it's one of the many reasons she decided our marriage was over. And I realized that she was right. I want to be with you."

Abbie laughed nervously. "You're in love with me?"

Ichabod nodded. "Yes, I am. I understand if you don't feel the same way. We can remain friends – or just partners – if you wish."

"You idiot. I'm in love with you too, but I was afraid to do something about it. I never expected you to feel the same way." She couldn't stop smiling.

Ichabod moved closer to her and pulled Abbie in for a kiss. "This was nice," he murmured after it was over.

"It really was." Abbie couldn't believe this had happened – seems like Jenny had been right, something she hadn't wanted to admit.

Jenny screamed happily and then clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oops."

Abbie and Ichabod swirled around. "Eavesdropping? Really? Way to be mature."

A contrite Jenny and Katrina stepped through the door. "We apologize for the indiscretion, but we wanted to see what occurred," Katrina explained.

"Yeah, yeah, we got it."

"You were listening in too?" Ichabod found it amusing when his ex-wife (almost, anyway) nodded.

In the end, everyone was happy with the way their lives had worked out. Sometimes, marriages don't work out and that's okay. Katrina and Ichabod were exactly where they wanted to be now, and that was what important to them.


End file.
